A paper worth reading

BRC Consultancy has just released a brilliant white paper on the forecasted business opportunities in emerging markets. If you're like me you'll just be glad to read that there are some market opportunities in the years ahead.

Get your copy of Sources of Growth in Multinational Network Markets now!

Shameless promotion

I've been toying with Google Sites for a short while. Long enough to discover that there really are a myriad of ways to provide simple, free, CMS or wiki based web pages. Google's foray into this sphere is yet another in burgeoning array that is showing few signs of slowing down or consolidating. Google's approach is to suggest that it provides an ideal meeting place for collaborative work. It seems that they missed out on the wiki movement that has been happily growing into a monstrous beast over the past several years.

Google Sites is nice enough and makes it simple to customise a few basic look and feel options. Check it out. It's free.

Deutsche Telekom continuously restructuring

Has anyone else noticed that DT is always telling us that they have decided to change the structure of their business? The latest news is that they intend to combine their fixed and wireless operations into one "management board." What does that mean? Aren't they already managed together?

In the past I've read about them selling their international operations, then focussing their strategy on international customers, then building their domestic business then chopping this bit out, then bringing that bit back. Maybe it's just me seeing all this. Does anyone else see all this activity as a bit of a waste of time?

Other World News

I've started another blog over at WordPress. It gets updated more regularly and covers general world events. As the tag line says, it gives my uniquely biased opinion.

Best news ever

I was well pleased when I read that some American ISPs are actually doing something to stop the SPAM we are all subjected to. GMail does a great job of keeping it out of my inbox but it still has a few false positives so I feel obliged to go through my spam folder to check every now and then. I have actually noticed a difference in the number of spams I've been receiving lately so hopefully this will make a dent.

Don't go to this site

If you are a regular reader of this post, please move along now.

I probably shouldn't post this here, but in some ways I couldn't resist. I found a bizarre site with strange rants and tips. It's called Unloved Content which sounds like a mixed metaphore (is it content with being unloved?) or a misspelt title for a trashy novel. (Unloved Aunt?). Interestingly a google search for the term unloved content brought up a ZDNet search page of results as the top hit. This obviously isn't something people often choose as a page title. Proceed at your peril.

European Global Network Providers Increasingly Targeting US Multinationals

Interesting press release on Business wire about how the European operators are going for more US based clients. I guess you gotta go where the market is. From the press release it looks like BT and Deutsche Telekom (and possibly Orange) are taking market share from Verizon and Sprint. This is inferred rather than stated explicitly.

This is just a promotional item for the BRC Win-Loss Report.

Nice theme

I've been using this blogger site for quite a while but I must admit I wish there was a bit more in the way of nice looking themes. I saw a site recently that has a brilliant theme but it's built using WordPress, so no luck for me there.

It's a bit of an off topic post but I needed to rant somewhere...

NTT profits jumps 32 pct on booming long distance

It's interesting to see that NTT is seeing a large proportion of its profits from long-distance communications and international revenue. Their global cover has never been that impressive but they do cover Asia better than anyone else. I'm not sure if it is valid to include it in a report entitled World Data Networks though.

Ethernet makes waves in the WAN

I have been hearing about how Ethernet is going to change the market but I haven't seen any evidence yet. Apparently prices aren't falling as fast as they used to so perhaps this is just another cost-cutting mechanism so they are hyping the apparent benefits when Ethernet is known to have severe limitations. Wait and see...

BRC Consultancy: Services for Network Buyers - World Data Networks Report

BRC Consultancy: Services for Network Buyers - World Data Networks Report

Apparently there is an "interactive" version of the BRC Consultancy WDN report that facilitates comparisons. This seems like a good idea for those who need "on the fly" charts comparing who has got what coverage and service where. I think there's nothing like a published report for showing your boss where the PoPs really are. GPOPs, iPoPs, MegaPoPs or nodes are all pretty difficult to find and, for some providers, define. I wonder if they show how many PoPs Vanco has ...

VPN Price Benchmarks

BRC provides a VPN price benchmarking service and this is described further on this VPN pricing page.The EVVA also has a price benchmark service for VPNs but their benchmarks are based on what other members are paying. BRC, however, obtains negotiated market prices across the market and uses these. Telgeography has also jumped on the band wagon to do benchmarks for global managed VPN services but their data source is not clear and their reports seem unhelpful at best. Their figures appear too rounded to be realistic. It looks like BRC does quite a lot of pricing analysis judging by the number of products they offer that relate to price:

• VPN Price benchmark for network buyers
  


• Cost and business case analysis
  


• VPN Port Pricing (including the BRC Network Pricing Report)
  


• VPN Access Pricing (including the BRC Access Pricing Report which covers leased lines and DSL)
  
  

Life Coaching with the Coach Exec

Today I had my first coaching session with the Angus Margerison - the "Coach Exec". It was an interesting experience and I am definitely keen to have a few more sessions with him. I've never had any life coaching before so this was a new experience. It was sort of like one-to-one motivational conversation with a bit of psychological probing thrown into the mix. I did wonder where he was going when he asked what my favourite colour was, but he didn't go all Freudian with the psycho-analysis. The CoachExec website has more about their approach to empowerment and target setting. It seemed abstract when I read the website but after having a session with Dr. Margerison I understand what he's actually on about. He's quite an interesting character. As CoachExec he does executive coaching as well as creative coaching. I think his creativity helps a lot with his probing and drawing things out. I might post more about my next session if I feel further inspired.

SingTel.com - 2007 Q1 Profits Up

SingTel is looking more and more like a serious international operator. Perhaps the "Singapore only" association could be dropped with the recent announcement that 75% of its revenue comes from international markets. Consulting firm BRC mentions them in their European Win Loss Report, (a competitor analysis study) so they must be doing something in Europe.

VPN Pricing - Network Buyers and Providers - Telecoms Consulting

Don't waste your time with useless sites like this one on VPN Pricing and telecoms consulting or this one on VPN Prices market negotiation. The only good thing about them is that they link to this blog :o)

Vanco - the pioneering global Virtual Network Operator (VNO) - Gartner Global Magic Quadrant 2007

"Vanco is a challenger". News or not news? Does anyone else think that Gartner's Magic Quadrants aren't all that valuable? I'm sure I could come up with more realistic ways to compare operators. Unfortunately I don't get paid to do that...

BRC Consultancy: World Data Networks Report

Has anyone seen a copy of BRC consulting's World Data Networks report? It looks like it has some interesting global VPN operator comparisons. I'd like to find out more about BRC. Are they similar to consulting firm Ovum? Or do their consultants really offer something special? Telecoms and IT consulting firms ... I don't expect them to tell me something I didn't already know. BRC's VPN Price Benchmarking service looks a lot like Telegeography's. BRC seems to have a selection of regular reports as well as custom consulting services. Telegeography seems more like an information source. As for Ovum, I'm not sure how in depth their consulting is in niche markets like this. They do offer a price benchmarking service, and being substantially larger than BRC I expect their information is at least as good.

BT Global Telecom Markets: Spotlight on BT products and services

Now this is interesting news. BT continues its aggressive global expansion. What is driving BT's expansion? A desire to drive AT&T out of the European market altogether?

AT&T: Europe, Middle East, Africa: AT&T Opens New Operations Facility in Slovakia

I'm not sure that global customers need a support and operations center in Eastern Europe. The question is, why does AT&T need one there?